Authorities seize works at auction

Federal authorities have seized two 18th century paintings, allegedly stolen from an Italian castle more than a decade ago, after a Los Angeles woman put them up for sale at a Christie’s auction in New York last month.

The paintings by Andrea Appiani -- “Venus and Adonis” and “Hercules and Omphales” -- were stolen from the Brancaccio Castle, a public museum in San Gregorio da Sassola, Italy, probably during a renovation that took place between 1994 and 1999, according to a civil forfeiture complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan in support of the seizure. Italian authorities reported the theft to Interpol in 1999.

Estimated to fetch $30,000 to $50,000 collectively, the paintings were put up for sale at Christie’s by the unidentified collector for the June 17 auction. But Italian authorities, who saw images of the paintings in the Christie’s catalog on June 14, confirmed that they were the stolen paintings, according to the complaint. The paintings were removed from auction and remained in Christie’s custody until the court filing Wednesday.

Jim Caviola, a Huntington Beach lawyer representing the Los Angeles woman who offered the paintings for auction, also would not identify her but said she is an Italian immigrant who came to this country in the 1950s and considers the paintings “family heirlooms.”

No arrests had been made Thursday, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in New York said investigators couldn’t comment on the case.

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Paul Lieberman